Welcome to the ’13-’14 school year to both you and your students. I thought the best way to begin the new school year with the OHS principal’s blog would be to introduce parents to our new staff members at OHS. We are very excited to have five new staff members join our school.

Bryce DeRoos is our new school psychologist, and he will play a significant role in special education programing, as well as developing new programs to meet the needs of our at-risk population. Bryce grew up in Sheboygan…went to Calvin College for undergrad…Marquette University for community counseling…UWEC for school psychology…worked for the last 10 years at Stanley-Boyd …married for 9 years (Holly)…3 kids (Conor-5, Luke-4, Ella-1) Bryce’s office is across the hall from the main office in the HS.

Rachel Harder is our new HS/MS art teacher. She was a 2007 Oostburg High School graduate who later went on to the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee where she received her undergraduate degree in Art Education K-12. While attending UWM, Rachel was able to spend a semester abroad traveling throughout Europe and attending the University of Limerick in Ireland. She student taught a variety of grade levels at Elkhart Lake – Glenbeulah School and Riverview Middle School. Following student teaching, Rachel was the Response to Intervention aide at our Middle School. Rachel spent this past year teaching 4 and 5 year olds at an English immersion school in Beijing, China. Highlights from her year teaching abroad include: spending a month riding a moped around the island of Bali, lighting fireworks in the streets of Beijing during Chinese New Year, canoeing down the Mekong River in Vietnam, and making lifelong friends with people from all over the world. As an artist, Rachel has a passion for found object sculpture, metalsmithing, and ceramics using hand-building methods.

Jenna Howell is our new vocal music teacher. Jenna graduated from Kiel High School and will be graduating this coming May from Lakeland College, after her extended student teaching experience here at Oostburg. She is currently student teaching within the Band and General Music programs, as well as teaching vocal music this year. Her main instrument is bassoon, but she also spends much of her time singing and playing Classic Rock, as well as with jazz groups. She performs mostly in Sheboygan County and has spotlighted with the Generations Big Band. Jenna is also involved in equestrian sports, and volunteers with local Equine Therapy organizations.

Colette Veldhorst is our new chemistry teacher. She is a 2004 OHS graduate and then continued her education at Northwestern College in Orange City, IA. During her time at Northwestern she did a semester abroad in New Zealand and majored in biology with the middle school and secondary education endorsements graduating in 2008. The following year Colette student taught and substitute taught in the Sheboygan County area. For the past four years, she has been at The Milton School District in south central Wisconsin teaching 8th grade life science and biology classes and coaching various sports. Beyond her education, Colette has a passion for travel, ministry, and the outdoors. For example, last summer she spent a month in Kenya helping at various schools and orphanages and this summer she spent time in Central America.

Nan Gabrielse is our new HS librarian. Nan has been a member of the Oostburg community all of her life. She and her husband, Travis have been married for 22 years. They have been blessed with three children. Parker who is 18, Brittany 16, and Brooke is 11. Travis and Nan enjoy spending as much time with them as possible; Whether it’s watching a movie or cheering them on at their sporting events. Their favorite family time is spent camping and spending time outdoors. Nan’s favorite hobbies are cooking and shopping.

We welcome our new staff members and hope all of our students and parents will have a chance to introduce themselves soon. With that in mind, we would like to invite all of our parents to our Open House on Monday, September 16th from 4:30-7:30 pm.

We hope your students have a great school year, and if at any point I can be of assistance, please call me at 920-564-2346 x 1001.

School District of Oostburg

“The mission of the Oostburg School District is to ensure all students learn at high levels so they can become productive and positive contributors to society and the world.”

No person may be denied admission to any public school in the district or be denied participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any curricular, co-curricular, student services, recreational or other program or activity because of the person’s sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, handicap or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability in the educational programs or activities operated by the School District of Oostburg.